an attic that had major fire damage that had been repaired but not well. and the owner had NOT disclosed this to the buyer or their agent. if i had ignored that and not gone in there, i would have not discovered that, and would not have been responsible for not knowing, but i am there to determine the condition of the house at the time of the inspection and this definately constitutes the condition of the house at that time. a good inspector will question anything that does not look right. the clamp covering the plumbing???

@Melissa MacKay, it might not be a bad idea to find out what constitutes the garage apartment/third unit, and what is the least you can do to bring it back to a two unit.

But I'm just not clear what my obligations are and what just constitutes me helping them out. 

This response neither constitutes legal or tax advice nor establishes an attorney-client relationship.

If I bought a mobile home or other property through that IRA and collected the lease payments from a lease purchase agreement and paid the federal and state taxes would that constitute a prohibitive transaction? 

Cant be constitutional. 

The purchase/sale of the tax liens were made with the intent to defraud investors through a Ponzi scheme it created in violation of Cal Penal Code 532 (theft), 18 U.S.C. 1341, 18 U.S.C. 1343 and consequently, constitutes an unlawful business act or practice withinthe meaning of Business & Professions Code §17200.i.

The second can stipulate that any default of the first constitutes a default of the second and they can join together in a foreclosure action if that makes the warm a fuzzy. :) 

Are you aware of what constitutes a financing agreement and how a security interest is vested or perfected in an installment purchase contract?

The court appoints a Guardian ad Litem to represent the interests of the unknowns, and that satisfies constitutional due process requirements.